Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, slammed Russia’s attack on a maternity unit in southern Ukraine on Wednesday that resulted in the death of a newborn child.
The child’s mother and a doctor were rescued from the rubble of the destroyed hospital in Vilnyansk, Zaporizhzhia region; following the rocket attack, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said the woman had just given birth to the child at the maternity ward. A doctor was also rescued they said.
Earlier, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration said on Telegram that Russian forces had “launched huge rockets at a small maternity ward at the Vilnyansk hospital.”
“The enemy has once again decided to try to achieve with terror and murder what he wasn’t able to achieve for nine months and won’t be able to achieve. Instead, he will only be held to account for all the evil he brought to our country.”
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Vilnyansk is a Ukrainian-controlled city. Russia occupies parts of the wider Zaporizhzhia region, which claims it as Russian territory in violation of international law.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling killed two persons in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine overnight, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
A residential structure, a medical facility, and a school were all damaged in Kupiansk; this is according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s office.
For months, Russian shelling and missile strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure in various parts of Ukraine. This also includes Kharkiv, where occupying Russian troops have been pushed out by Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
